Presents two works by the political and social radical English-speaking philosopher. One is regarded as a sacred text of liberalism. The other stresses the importance of equality for the sexes. These works provide a testimony to the hopes and anxieties of mid-Victorian England, and offer a consideration of what it truly means to be free.

Two cornerstones of liberalism from the great social radical of English philosophy

John Stuart Mill was a prodigious thinker who sharply challenged the beliefs of his age. In On Liberty, one of the sacred texts of liberalism, he argues that any democracy risks becoming a "tyranny of opinion" in which minority views are suppressed if they do not conform to those of the majority. The Subjection of Women, written shortly after the death of Mill's wife, Harriet, stresses the importance of sexual equality. Together they provide eloquent testimony to the hopes and anxieties of Victorian England, and offer a trenchant consideration of what it really means to be free.

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On Liberty remains a classic. . . . The present world would be better than it is if [MillÆs] principles were more respected. (Bertrand Russell)